'Nothing short of oppressive': Victorians urged to power down as temperatures soar
As Melbourne gears up to endure its hottest day this summer, residents are being urged to monitor their power use.
The energy market operator has warned electricity supply is "very tight" in Victoria and has urged consumers to monitor their energy usage over the next two days.
An extreme heatwave will hit Victoria before the Australia Day long weekend, with Friday expected to reach 43 degrees in Melbourne. A total fire ban has been declared for Friday.
The city is forecast to reach 36 degrees on Thursday before Melburnians swelter through the hottest night in a year, with the mercury not dropping below 29 degrees overnight.
"The overnight minimum temperatures are nothing short of oppressive, unfortunately," the Bureau of Meteorology's Richard Russell said.
Country Fire Authority chief officer Steve Warrington warned Friday would mark the "first real day" of bushfire risk for the whole of the state this summer.
"We know – based on our history – that unfortunately we have lost lives, we have lost property, we have lost stock and there has been significant damage," he said drawing a comparison to the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
"It is time for all Victorians to be aware for the next four, six and up to eight weeks."
Australian Open organisers at Melbourne Park will be keeping a close eye on the temperature, with conditions set to mirror those of last week when it climbed into the mid to high 30s.
Both the men and women's singles semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday evening.
The much-discussed new heat policy – a one-to-five ‘heat stress’ scale – was carefully monitored by Australian Open organisers last week, hitting a 3.7 on the scale on the first day of the Open.
The Australian Energy Market Operator released a statement on Thursday morning, warning electricity supply and demand balance will be tight over the next few days in Victoria and South Australia, where temperature records are expected to be broken.
Friday will be the hottest day in Melbourne this summer. The closest Melbourne has come to Friday's forecast conditions was on January 4 when it reached 42.6 degrees.
The change will sweep through about 3pm on Friday when a "punchy" southwesterly change will see temperatures drop sharply. In some places they are expected to drop by 15 degrees in 20 minutes.
There is also the chance of a thundery shower, however it will be a mostly dry, windy change.
The weekend is expected to be much milder, with a top of 26 degrees on Australia Day and 25 degrees on Sunday. Along the Murray, it will remain hot, with temperatures in the mid to high 30s on Saturday before dropping to the low 30s on Sunday.
- With Cole Latimer